#lietwice. selek

[jsbashirmd]

@lietwice sent:

“You are so weird.” ( Selek in his early days of just starting to get comfortable enough with them to say something like this )

"I know sweetheart." Julian only stopped singing at Soren for long enough to respond to his brother, then he went right back to it. "When I gotta go, I stop what I’m doing. I go to the potty, and I sit right down. You can help, if you like."

[jsbashirmd]

@lietwice sent:

"I just have to open the window..." ( Selek and Soren trying to sneak out lol )

Julian caught the snatch of conversation from a full two rooms away, and he paused for a moment to let the annoyance pass over him. After all these years, his children still underestimated his hearing. And more importantly, they were sneaking out? At bedtime? He had to admire their confidence in their own limited ability to look rested when they weren't. He shook his head, then followed the sound to Soren's bedroom, where he quietly opened the door, then crossed his arms.

"Hello boys. And where are you off to?"

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Koral makes a sound which may or may not be an acknowledgement that he just heard his father make a sound and Julian makes a point to pull Mina close and give her a long and affectionate hug, per their earlier conversation. Then he sits at the table, looking exhausted, and smiles fondly at Selek. "We really appreciate you taking the initiative, even though you know you didn't have to make dinner. You're getting grown up and responsible faster than I can keep up with, but I'm enjoying seeing it, all the same. I think, in light of this sort of thing, where you're showing us how thoughtful you are, we can maybe talk about some more privileges for you. A later curfew, a little less asking permission and a little more just you checking in, when you want to be with friends. I'll talk to Yadik about it, okay?" Selek looks embarrassed, but also pleased, and he allows Julian to at least squeeze his hand before he sits down too.

Louder, Julian says, "I suppose I'll just have to suffer through the sitting, then. He should be getting hungry again soon. How long ago did you feed him, love? Did he drink all of what you gave him?"

Julian loves him. Absolutely and completely. He kisses him slow and gentle, squeezes his hands, then folds himself back into his arms for another hug. "Good. In that case, you'll forget entirely in a matter of days." He grins. "You're the best. The best husband, the best father. Who definitely is going to make us all the best dinner. Come on, love. Up. I'm gonna lay on the couch with the baby while you work your magic."

[jsbashirmd]

@lietwice

Julian blinked, and everything changed. From one second to the next, with no clear transition, his husband was transformed from the graying, smiling father of four that he'd grown to love to the startled, but smoother face of the tailor he'd first met so many years ago. Selek backed away from Garak's knee with a look of utter confusion and Julian leaned onto his elbow over the counter, preparing to reach out if necessary, though that would be made more difficult by the child on his own hip.

"Garak?"

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Selek asks a bunch of questions, about the people Abba worked with and the other shops and restaurants on the station and what his quarters looked like. Eventually though, Emkari cuts him off. "Yadik... why aren't you and Abba seeing each other yet? Isn't it obvious that you're meant to be together?"

Julian, despite his best efforts, is annoyed. Or perhaps 'outraged' is a better word. "Not with you? You must be joking. Sure, we didn’t call them dates, but long lunches spent shamelessly flirting don't count for you? Everyone else I went out with certainly thought they did." And some didn't mind, though others had made it very clear the tailor-shaped reason they wouldn’t be continuing to see him.

"Abba, not now, please," Soren cut in, protesting how this argument was inevitably going to become kissing.

Selek piled on, "Yeah, we're trying to eat. Tell us more about the station before the war?" He paused, then added, "The Klingon-Bajoran war against bad holo-stories. Messed up the whole sector."

Perhaps they should've practiced their storytelling a little.

[jsbashirmd]

Selek and Soren have been theirs for about a year, and still, Julian is heartbroken every time he encounters this sort of behavior. Even as he crosses the room into the hall with quick strides, he's silently reminding himself that it's a good thing Selek feels safe enough to act out at home.

Soren caught himself and didn't quite fall, but he still has tears in his eyes when he turns to glare at his brother, betrayed. "Go find Yadik, Soren--he'll kiss you all better." He'd put on his stern voice, and it didn't get better when he focused it all on his older son. "And you and me, Selek, need to have a chat. Shall we do it right here, or do you want to go to your room?" The room was shared, but with Soren off to find Yadik, it would be private enough.

Julian grins--he can't help it--and with Selek out of his reach, he leans forward to kiss Soren's head instead. "If someone hears, love, then they'll know that I care enough about you two to make this sort of thing as fun and not-torturous as I can. That's hardly a bad thing." He gets Soren cleaned up and dressed again, kisses him all over and gives him heaps of praise, then lets him toddle off toward his big brother. "Do you want to help me with something else, maybe? I was going to start lunch soon."

[jsbashirmd]

Julian grins--he can't help it--and with Selek out of his reach, he leans forward to kiss Soren's head instead. "If someone hears, love, then they'll know that I care enough about you two to make this sort of thing as fun and not-torturous as I can. That's hardly a bad thing." He gets Soren cleaned up and dressed again, kisses him all over and gives him heaps of praise, then lets him toddle off toward his big brother. "Do you want to help me with something else, maybe? I was going to start lunch soon."

@lietwice sent:

“You are so weird.” ( Selek in his early days of just starting to get comfortable enough with them to say something like this )

"I know sweetheart." Julian only stopped singing at Soren for long enough to respond to his brother, then he went right back to it. "When I gotta go, I stop what I’m doing. I go to the potty, and I sit right down. You can help, if you like."

[jsbashirmd]

Julian loves him. Absolutely and completely. He kisses him slow and gentle, squeezes his hands, then folds himself back into his arms for another hug. "Good. In that case, you'll forget entirely in a matter of days." He grins. "You're the best. The best husband, the best father. Who definitely is going to make us all the best dinner. Come on, love. Up. I'm gonna lay on the couch with the baby while you work your magic."

Selek was their problem last time, but he's old enough now that Julian suspects he may appreciate the space. "Mina," he says. "She's been your little barnacle since we got her. I give it a week until she starts noticing that you're always holding Koral instead of always holding her." Even if that doesn't end up being true, she'll likely perceive it that way. Julian sits down heavily on the end of the bed and takes both of Garak's hands. "Are you okay, darling? You did amazing, but you're not exactly used to having to see me like that."

[jsbashirmd]

Julian, despite his best efforts, is annoyed. Or perhaps 'outraged' is a better word. "Not with you? You must be joking. Sure, we didn’t call them dates, but long lunches spent shamelessly flirting don't count for you? Everyone else I went out with certainly thought they did." And some didn't mind, though others had made it very clear the tailor-shaped reason they wouldn’t be continuing to see him.

"Abba, not now, please," Soren cut in, protesting how this argument was inevitably going to become kissing.

Selek piled on, "Yeah, we're trying to eat. Tell us more about the station before the war?" He paused, then added, "The Klingon-Bajoran war against bad holo-stories. Messed up the whole sector."

Perhaps they should've practiced their storytelling a little.

"That's cause he is older," Selek said, looking proud of himself for grasping the situation.

"Yeah, pumpkin, it is," Julian agreed proudly. "Eat your fruit."

"Wait," Emkari cuts in, "That long ago? When you were still in Star Fleet, Abba?" She asks it like she almost can't believe it's really possible for someone to have come from that far back in time. Julian gives her a little nod and she looks incredibly shocked. "But then you don't even know... you might not even know why..." She cuts herself off, looking concerned, then revises her words. "You don’t even know why Abba moved to Cardassia." Because that much is fairly obvious.

[jsbashirmd]

Julian smiles softly, and, because he can't resist and he doesn't see why he should, he presses a brief, affectionate kiss to Garak's lips. "Alright. I'll go speak to them. We'll be back in a few minutes. You can enjoy your moment of peace to drink your tea." Then he steps back, gently rouses Mina for the group discussion, and makes his way to wherever the children have gathered. When he finds them, he gestures them all close, kneels down, and puts on his serious face. "Alright team, listen up. Your Yadik isn’t who he usually is. Some sort of time travel messed everything up and so now he's younger. Sooo young that he doesn't know any of you yet. That doesn't mean he doesn't love you--it just means he's not grown up enough to know anything about you. The Yadik in our kitchen right now is the Yadik before he and I even got married. Now, we're going to get older Yadik back and put younger Yadik back where he's supposed to be in the timeline, but until we do, we need to make sure he doesn't find out too much about his future. So, Selek, Soren, Emkari: Get creative. You can tell him all about anything you want, but he can't find out whether what you're saying is the truth or not. If it is the truth, add in things that are made up. That's for everything, okay? World history, you guys, each other, me. Whatever you talk about, it should be at least half fiction. You can even change your names around if you want. Okay?"

There were interruptions, of course, and Julian had to field about a dozen questions and soothe a lot of worries with assurances that he hoped very much were the truth. But eventually, they accepted the gameplan and Julian pulled them into a big hug before giving them one last rule. "We don't know how older and younger Yadik switched, so nobody is allowed to hold onto him. No getting in his lap, no asking to be picked up, no holding onto his hands or arms or legs. I couldn’t bear to lose any one of you in some scary time vortex, so nobody is taking any chances. I'm being very serious right now because this is about your safety, and if anyone breaks this rule, there will be big consequences to remind you of how seriously we take safety. Do you all understand?" Only when that was sadly agreed to did the children tumble their way into the kitchen for lunch, all of them stopping less than half a meter away from Garak to stare.

Selek was the first to ask a question. "Is it true you don't know who we are?"

"Oh no, it's too late for that. Selek saw you, and he'll have told the other two everything." Not that he would've agreed to that plan anyway--the last thing his love deserves is to be hidden away for convenience' sake. "And anyway, it's good for them to see the occasional strange thing. Just... they're going to want to fill you in on everything, if we say you don't know them yet. The timeline is already royally fucked, if you remember this when you go back, or if you don't go back." The last words get caught in his throat a little, as though he can't quite bear to think of it. "But how much are you willing to risk hearing from them? They're well-behaved when it's important--I can tell them not to tell you anything if that would make it easier." That said, they were still children.

[jsbashirmd]

"I know that," he says. "Of course I know that." He lets go of one of his hands to stroke his cheek. "I'll get started tomorrow. Adjust my hormone levels, extract a marrow sample. I'm going to need a sample from you too, you know. You never were cooperative about giving me those--am I going to have to sneak around behind your back this time? Or are you going to actually be helpful?"

"Gross! Gross, gross, gross! Abba, Yadik, go to your own room before you start talking about samples. If you're going to ruin all our lives with another screaming baby, at least don't tell us all about how it got made!"

And then they're actually alone and Julian grins. "Should we? Go to our own room?"

Julian scrunches his nose and Mina gives up on them to stomp out of the room after her sister. "I suppose so."

He should've expected it, really, but when Garak gets exactly the right number, Julian's stomach swoops. A baby. He's going to get a bone marrow sample and make an egg and carefully manipulate everything he has to ensure their DNA fits together to build an entirely new, stable person. And then they're going to have a baby. Their baby.

"You're sure you want this? We won't ever be able to go back to the Federation." Not that they were planning to, of course, but it's been nice to have a safety net. "They won't be able to live a normal life on any Federation planet either. And there could be complications. Bajorans are similar to us, but they're just a little more genetically compatible than humans."

[jsbashirmd]

Mina protests with fake gagging sounds, and Selek adds an 'ew', but Julian ignores them. He smiles at his husband and then cups his cheek to pull him in for another kiss. "It's a shame you're so likely to lose." Then he rolls, and it puts him even further ahead, though he certainly hasn't won yet. "Your turn."

Garak @lietwice sent:

　❝ if you lose, your first child is mine. ❞

"Oh yeah?" he asks, amused. The dice are still rolling around in his palm. "My first, huh? Emma, sweetheart, I think Yadik is trying to get you as a shiny prize. You have anything to say about that?"

She rolls her eyes and shifts in her chair as she sets her book to the side. "No deal, Abba. I belong to me. You'd better make a counter-offer."

Julian pauses, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Huh. Would you accept fifth? Maybe we'll even up the ante?" They'd talked about it a little bit already, but still, Julian thinks it might throw him off to put it flat out on the table now. "If you win, I'll make you a fifth." And carry it himself.